Missouri Hospital Avoids Financial Losses Thanks to PCP Testing of Nursing Candidate
For privacy reasons, all of the names in this article have been changed.
Abstract
Thanks to the Physical Capacity Profile (PCP) post-offer employment test, a hospital in Missouri identified a nurse candidate as unable to perform the physical expectations of the job. When the candidate accepted a position at a nearby nursing home, both she and her new employer suffered greatly.
The Search for a Qualified, Compassionate Nurse Candidate
Homestead Hospital in Missouri needed to fill an open nurse position. The hospital’s human resource leaders knew that its nurses were crucial to the success of its healthcare delivery system. It needed to identify a candidate who was compassionate, educated, experienced, and physically capable of the demanding work required of its nursing staff. Its nurses are responsible for helping patients move between their beds and chairs and walk to the bathroom, which means they must be able to lift a considerable amount of weight while practicing safe lifting techniques.
The Importance of Physical Assessment for Nurses
Before hiring a nurse, every healthcare entity owes it to itself and the candidate to ensure that the prospective hire is physically capable of performing the physically demanding work that is required of nurses. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that the weight limit for employees conducting two-handed lifting tasks on the job be no more than 35 pounds. Unfortunately, the average adult weighs significantly more than 35 pounds, they are rarely cooperative and unmoving, and the nurse is not often able to move them slowly and smoothly. The resulting physical duress that nurses face daily is significant. One report estimates that the average nurse lifts 1.8 tons per shift—the weight of a small car.
The Interview and Pre-Offer Testing Process
During the candidate interview process, Gina, Homestead Hospital’s human resource director, met with Darlene, a job candidate that demonstrated significant potential for the open nurse position. She was kind, experienced, knowledgeable, and had the kind of calm disposition that would put a fearful patient at ease. Based on Darlene’s interview, Gina offered her the job on the condition that she pass a drug screening and a post-offer employment test. The hospital uses an on-site PCP test for relevant post-offer physical exams, fit for duty, and functional capacity evaluations (FCE’s) to ensure potential hires can meet the physical demands of certain positions. Through computerized software, the PCP collects a comprehensive 23 maximum strength measurements in as little as 20 minutes. Results are available to the HR team in seconds.
A day later, Darlene completed her PCP test. The results revealed that she was not physically able to conduct the work that would be expected of her. To protect the hospital and Darlene, Gina legally rescinded Darlene’s job offer.
Alternative Employment and Increased Risk
Not considering that perhaps she needed to consider a healthcare career that would not expose her to such high physical demands as a staff nurse, Darlene soon interviewed at Rosebriar Nursing Home, a residential care facility in the same community as Homestead Hospital. Rosebriar was not leveraging the PCP or any form of post-offer employment testing, so when its HR manager offered Darlene position as an on-site caregiver, there was no contingency for proving physical capability.
A few days after accepting the position at Rosebriar, Darlene went to work. Within her first 30 days of hire, she suffered an on-the-job back injury. Darlene took several days off of work, hoping the debilitating pain would abate. When it did not, she requested and was approved for a medical leave of absence and sought physical therapy rehabilitation.
Darlene’s physician referred her to Homestead Hospital. On her first day of rehab, she met her therapist. Coincidentally, it was the same professional who tested her on the PCP for the job at Homestead.
Lost Cost Avoidance
Had Rosebriar required post-offer employment testing for their new hires like Homestead, they too could have realized that, while well-intentioned, Darlene simply was not physically suited for the strenuous demands of on-site nursing. Rosebriar could have avoided the financial losses associated with Darlene’s medical leave, workers’ compensation payments, healthcare costs, and insurance modification rate impact, and lost productivity. Darlene could have avoided a painful work-related injury that caused long-term discomfort and life disruptions.
The PCP is EEOC, HIPPA, and ADA compliant, and the company has been in business since 1988. The PCP has a network of medical providers in over 130 locations across 18 states in addition to the employers that have the PCP for their private use inside of their own facilities.